I apologize for the long delay. I have decided that it is in my (and Naomi's) best interest to start looking to purchase a house (with a garage of course). I have been wanting to buy for a while now and I've finally started the ball rolling. Once I get settled and get a house, I'll have Naomi towed down here and then I can chip away on her at a more reasonable rate. The way things are now, I waste a lot of time, gas and money driving back and forth to North Carolina. I love seeing my parents this much, however this is really not conducive to getting work done on the Buick. Make sense? Be back soon...

Just taking a quick winter break. I'll get back to it sometime in late February/early March. Stay Warm!

This past weekend, I didn't get a whole lot done, but I did make a little more headway. I top coated over the POR-15 I had applied on the floor boards and trunk. So now they are ready for insulation and carpet. I attempted to install the main fuel line and apparently this is originally installed before the body drop which makes since. So when I go back to N.C. to work on her again, I'll have to cut the line and make the necessary attachments. I removed all necessary screws and bolts to remove the dash. However, the passenger side door is jammed and won't open so it binds with the dash which means I didn't get around to removing the old dash. I need to remove the window cranks, door handle and panels to unlock the door next time. Let's see what else.... Oh right, I installed the distributor and new electronic ignition. I also started installing the new intake lines around the engine. I am currently at the point where I need the old car at the garage in Rock Hill, SC for visual reference. I did take a lot of photos before I broke everything down, but some of the angles are off and I can't quite see the whole picture, so to speak soooooo. I'm having the old car towed up soon. I'll be back to North Carolina in November to work on her some more. I'll post some more pics soon!

Well first order of business was to install the newly rebuilt starter. I also installed the driver's side exhaust manifold (with gaskets)
I got around to gutting the interior and POR-15 the floor boards and the trunk. I got most of the screws and bolts off to remove the dash, but there are a few that I didn't get to behind the radio so I didn't get around to pulling the old dash. The next time to North Carolina I hope to pull the dash and start hooking up the brand new wiring harness. I also need to remove the passenger side cranks and door panel and I'd like to install the hood springs. Check out the photos from this past weekend here!

Last weekend I went to North Carolina with a notebook and pencil. Walked around the car and the garage making lots of notes and putting together a sort of plan. I wasn't planning on even touching a wrench, I just wanted to get reacquainted with the ol' girl. However, I did manage to get my hands dirty which was great! It was a good weekend. The first order of business was separating the chrome from the stainless. My dad is sending some of his TR6 chrome pieces up to a chromplating place in Cherryville, NC, so I decided to tag along. Broke a couple of old bolts, busted the old knuckles but managed to get the bumper parts separated. Since I have 2 cars of the exact model, it was great having 2 sets of parts to choose from (something I'll remember for my next Buick resto). Most of the stainless trim is off the car so that wasn't a big deal. I was surprised at how little chrome, or rather how much was actually stainless - my wallet is very thankful for that! I also got around to removing the old inner fender wells and installing the ones I had restored from the first car. I had to cut out some of the metal to make way for the disc brakes and new front end suspension, but not a big deal. I'm still amazed at the how solid the body is. It's simply night and day compared to my old body. Another thing I'll keep in mind for my next Buick. For reference, the first car was a Florida car and for those that don't know, salt water is very bad for old cars. The second car I got in Nebraska and everything is so solid, it's amazing.

One of my Dad's friends is into Pontiacs and does outstanding body work and resto. His 2 cars got a featured article in some Pontiac club publication (I can't remember the name). Anyways, I'm going to show him my mock-up for the black and purple paint job and see what he thinks. Once I get the paint job, I can install the interior which is already to go.

This weekend, I'm going to POR-15 the floors and trunk. I'll hopefully get to pulling the old dash and use it for reference for my restored dash and the new wiring harness. I also need to remove the little trim strips and headlight buckets from the rear fenders. Should be a productive weekend!

Just posted some photos of the engine rebuild. Click here or use the link in the drop down to the right.

Here's an old artist's rendering of my exact model. It's from a brochure celebrating Buick's 50th Anniversary and introducing/marketing the 1953 models. I took the liberty to alter the rendering in Photoshop to get an idea of the paint scheme I plan on getting Naomi. Not original, but gonna look very slick! I wanted something custom, but subtle. I think this will do it. That "Plum" is real rich and dark in real life. When I go home this weekend I'll take pics of the dash that's in this scheme already so you can get a better idea. I should be bringing back a bunch of goodies from the weekend! I have notes from 2003 of the work I was doing. So I'll probably transfer those over to this blog just for kicks. on Route 66!

Hello and welcome to my new blog for my 1953 Buick. I'd first like to thank my Dad who has helped me immensely with this ongoing project so, thank you Dad!

Finally, I've gotten things situated in my life that I'm able to cruise up to Carolina on the weekends and work a little bit at time on my 1953 Buick. I'm thrilled to present this blog! For those that know me, know that I have a beautiful 1953 Buick Super 2 Door Hardtop named Naomi. Be sure to check out the growing restoration pictures.

So here's some history:
• January 2002: I purchased her off of e-bay for $1000 from a fellow down in Orlando, Florida. It ran when he last tried, but i figured it hadn't been started or turned in a long time. All I really cared about was that everything was complete - and sure enough everything was there. All the trim and chrome, parts were there. I had her towed from orlando to charleston for about $600.

• March 2002 - November 2002 While living in Charleston, SC I did a couple of things rebuilt the carburetor and started to rebuild the fuel pump. For my 26th Birthday, my dad had the radiator recored. - but mostly I just took it apart, broke some bolts, and had it towed from place to place whenever i moved within Charleston. I was getting ready to move back to North Carolina in January of 2003 and went ahead and had her towed in late 2002.

• Year of 2003 - I finally got back to North Carolina and went to work on Naomi. I was temping at a print shop and doing various work for my dad. He built a garage behind his office for his TR6's. Naomi's quite a big girl and well, let's just say the TR6's had to move out... Anyways, so this year was a big year for me and Naomi. This is when I managed to get quite a bit done on her. I was working on her daily. I rebuilt the front suspension, rebuilt the brakes, restored the gas tank. I installed stainless steel fuel and brake lines. I reupholstered the interior. Yes I sew! I repainted the dash. My dad helped me out when we sent the transmission and engine out to be rebuilt. My high school friend Alex Nolen's dad Greg and his brother Gary rebuilt the V-8 Fireball. I got to go out there and bother them asking them questions and generally keeping them from working! When they were done with the rebuild, they let me paint the engine the original pale green. I got some spray bombs and decals from classicbuicks.com. I also bought some new tubes for the a.m. radio and got it working again! oh that hum! This was all during the summer. We were making headway mechanically. Dad and I also flew to Flint, MI to celebrate Buick's 100th Anniversary. We had an awesome time, but that's another story. I purchased a complete wiring harness from YnZ's Yesterday Parts. All while working on the mechanics, I was basically pulling my hair out trying to repair the body. The drip rails and window channels were just too far gone. The floor boards were rusted out which normally wouldn't be a problem, but the rocker panels were just garbage too. Not to mention the trunk was gone as well. It was really just too much. A good friend of the family (Rob Jackson) who beautifully restored his '56 Chrysler Imperial, told me I really needed to find complete body to swap. I knew he was right, but I tried and tried very hard to repair as much as I could. I welded as best I could, but it finally sank in my thick head that I needed to find another '53 Super. The time it would have taken me to a. learn and b. actually do the work to make the body true would have surpassed finding a good, clean, rust free body. During this time, I was also starting to install the wiring harness when I was about to head out to move to Nashville. I was about to put Naomi on a long hiatus.

• Year of 2004 - Fall of 2003, I left Naomi in Kings Mountain. I moved to Nashville. I was slightly burned out on the Buick and I was living at home in my late 20s. So i thought it'd be a good idea to get out on my own for good and come back to Naomi when most of the things in my life were in alignment. In early 2004 I got the hankering to find another Buick with a good body. It didn't take too long. I posted on EVERY forum out there. Asked at wheatbelt (a well known huge Buick junkyard out west). Finally about a month after I started seriously looking for a body, I found one out in Nebraska. Once again, my Dad helped me out and we had it hauled from Nebraska all the way to kings moutain, nc. I spent 3 years in Nashville and didn't turn one bolt on the Buick. Every time I visited kings mountain, I'd check on the 2 Buicks. Dad finally took initiative and had both cars towed down to a fellow in Rock Hill. He surprised me last year by swapping the bodies AND having the chassis powder coated AND had front end disc brakes put on. I could not believe it! That is so awesome. As some know, I plan on driving the car, not necessarily showing it. I may show it in modified shows here an there, but that's not my intention. I'm keeping most everything original, except the interior, paint job. I've already painted the dash and I must say, I did a bang up job. Not too shabby for my first time EVER painting. The car will be 2 two tone black and plum. I will post pics of the concept and the work I have done when I get back next weekend. I'm going home on the 24th to re-assess and get back in the groove! More to come!